Indonesia’s Rice Consumption

4:04 am ESTMay 27, 2015

By

Anita Rachman

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Reports that merchants in a traditional market outside Jakarta had sold synthetic rice caused a panic among Indonesian consumers this week in a country where rice is a staple. The government has since tested samples of the allegedly tampered grain and found that it contained no synthetic material, Indonesian Police Chief Badrodin Haiti said Tuesday in a televised press conference. But the fact that rumors of the so-called “plastic rice” spread so fast and so widely, revel just how important the commodity is to Indonesians – who often say a meal without rice means one hasn’t eaten.